NBC's new 'Race For The Altar' struggles in premiere, draws only 5.7 million viewers

By Reality TV World staff, 08/04/2003

NBC's new marriage-oriented reality series “Race to the Altar” struggled during its Wednesday 8PM ET July 30 premiere, drawing only 5.7 overall viewers. The sad thing is that despite the struggles, the series actually improved NBC's Wednesday 8-9 PM Adult 18-49 ratings versus the typical July performance of timeslot-predecessor “Fame.”

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According to NBC, “Race to the Altar” -- which features eight engaged couples that compete through elaborate competitions that force them to work together as a team - achieved a 2.7 rating and 9 share among adults 18-49, an increase of 0.5 of a ratings point from “Fame” average audience delivery during the month. Likewise, the debut earned a 3.4 rating and 11 share among women 18-49, leading all network competition.

One encouraging note for the network -- the series premiere revealed a promising indicator with higher numbers in the 8:30-9 p.m. half hour with a 3.0 rating (as opposed to a 2.3. for the first half hour) - a whopping increase of 33 percent that enabled it to win adults 18-49 in that half hour.